Garry Monk has spoken of how he is trying to change the culture at the club … at the same time as Wednesday are struggling to end a winless sequence of results.
After another largely lifeless performance in the 3-0 home reverse to Reading today made it four defeats in the last five league games at Hillsborough, with just one goal scored, Monk said: “I said from the very start this is a very big job, there is a lot of work that needs to be done … and change.
“My aim is to get to that point where I can physically change the environment and everything that goes with it. But I also understand in the meantime that to get to that point you have to get results and I’m not getting results and the team is not getting the results or producing the performances we need.”
We have also won just one of our last 10 Championship games, bringing criticism of performances in recent weeks from Monk, and he said: “Everyone deserves honesty. Sometimes to be honest can hurt … but I live in a world where the truth is what matters.
“If you can’t handle the truth and do something about it then you shouldn’t be in this business – that is life.
“What you look for is the characters in those moments to show their strength of character to come out and prove everyone wrong, or come out the other side of it.”
He continued: “If I felt I couldn’t help this group or that they weren’t listening to me then I would be honest enough to say that.
“But I think it’s more to do with the confidence levels being low, a fragility about them. They are finding it very very hard to snap themselves out of it and bring themselves back to a level they need to be at – and that is the difference between winning and losing.
“To get to that level of consistency between losing and winning you have to have a really strong mentality.”
Referring to a question about whether previous regulars Keiren Westwood and Sam Hutchinson have been ‘frozen out’ in recent weeks after not appearing in the first team squad, the Owls boss said: “I have been 25 years in changing rooms, I know what a successful changing room looks like.
“I know what goes into a changing room and it is not always just football, it can be certain other things, influences, character, all this type of stuff and I make those decisions on knowing what a changing room needs to be, to be successful.
“I can’t go against what I know is right and every single player knows where he stands.”